Desktop Support Contract Job Trends
Desktop Support
UK
The median Desktop Support daily rate in the UK is £210, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 17 October 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 17 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 485 | 319 | 341 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -166 | +22 | -35 |
| Contract jobs requiring a Desktop Support | 210 | 264 | 228 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 0.38% | 0.79% | 0.61% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.41% | 0.87% | 0.65% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 124 | 171 | 143 |
| 10th Percentile | £140 | £150 | £135 |
| 25th Percentile | £170 | £160 | £163 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £210 | £210 | £205 |
| Median % change year-on-year | - | +2.44% | +2.50% |
| 75th Percentile | £240 | £250 | £237 |
| 90th Percentile | £285 | £288 | £269 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £210 | £213 | £203 |
| % change year-on-year | -1.18% | +4.94% | +1.25% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 25 | 42 | 17 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.03 | £13.75 | £18.13 |
| 25th Percentile | £17.25 | £15.12 | £22.22 |
| Median hourly rate | £22.00 | £23.23 | £24.18 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -5.29% | -3.93% | +24.00% |
| 75th Percentile | £23.50 | £31.40 | £27.25 |
| 90th Percentile | £24.20 | £33.75 | £34.30 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £21.00 | £25.15 | £24.18 |
| % change year-on-year | -16.50% | +4.01% | +31.77% |
All Contract IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.
| 6 months to 17 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title | 50,792 | 30,277 | 34,849 |
| % of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title | 91.89% | 90.93% | 93.00% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 29,802 | 19,116 | 21,016 |
| 10th Percentile | £325 | £280 | £300 |
| 25th Percentile | £425 | £402 | £413 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -4.76% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £638 | £625 | £638 |
| 90th Percentile | £737 | £725 | £738 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £500 | £475 | £492 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.26% | -3.36% | -1.70% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 4,200 | 1,670 | 1,418 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.25 | £13.80 | £15.02 |
| 25th Percentile | £19.25 | £17.30 | £20.50 |
| Median hourly rate | £41.06 | £25.15 | £41.27 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +63.25% | -39.05% | -8.30% |
| 75th Percentile | £67.50 | £50.00 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £80.00 | £68.75 | £73.83 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £40.32 | £24.62 | £41.53 |
| % change year-on-year | +63.77% | -40.72% | -6.67% |
Desktop Support Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'Desktop Support' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
Desktop Support Daily Rate Trend
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Desktop Support job vacancies in the UK.
Desktop Support Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Desktop Support over the 6 months to 17 October 2026.
Desktop Support Hourly Rate Trend
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Desktop Support job vacancies in the UK.
Desktop Support Hourly Rate Histogram
Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Desktop Support over the 6 months to 17 October 2026.
Desktop Support Top 15 Contract Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Desktop Support within the UK over the 6 months to 17 October 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.
| Location | Rank Change on Same Period Last Year |
Matching Contract IT Job Ads |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -166 | 186 | £210 | -1.75% | 38 |
| UK excluding London | -152 | 131 | £210 | -1.18% | 20 |
| London | -90 | 76 | £225 | +12.50% | 20 |
| North of England | -86 | 36 | £235 | +20.51% | 4 |
| North West | -44 | 28 | £235 | +11.90% | 2 |
| South East | -69 | 27 | £180 | -16.28% | 4 |
| Midlands | -48 | 19 | £218 | +27.19% | 7 |
| Scotland | -16 | 17 | £150 | +0.33% | 1 |
| South West | -70 | 16 | £225 | -4.26% | 2 |
| East of England | -22 | 13 | £190 | -13.64% | 2 |
| West Midlands | -45 | 13 | £210 | +20.00% | 2 |
| Work from Home | -61 | 12 | £225 | -10.00% | 9 |
| Yorkshire | -34 | 8 | £240 | +2.13% | 2 |
| East Midlands | -15 | 6 | £250 | +58.73% | 5 |
| Northern Ireland | +5 | 4 | - | - |
Desktop Support Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 17 October 2026, Desktop Support contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads featuring Desktop Support in the job title.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Windows | 71.4% | 150 |
| 2 | Microsoft | 46.7% | 98 |
| 3 | Microsoft 365 | 46.2% | 97 |
| 4 | Active Directory | 38.6% | 81 |
| 5 | ITIL | 32.4% | 68 |
| 6 | Customer Service | 31.9% | 67 |
| 7 | ITSM | 27.6% | 58 |
| 8 | Windows 10 | 22.4% | 47 |
| 9 | SCCM | 20.0% | 42 |
| 10 | ServiceNow | 19.0% | 40 |
| 11 | Service Management | 17.6% | 37 |
| 12 | Security Cleared | 17.1% | 36 |
| 13 | Microsoft Intune | 16.7% | 35 |
| 14 | Service Delivery | 15.7% | 33 |
| 15 | SC Cleared | 14.8% | 31 |
| 16 | SharePoint | 13.8% | 29 |
| 17 | Degree | 12.4% | 26 |
| 17 | SLA | 12.4% | 26 |
| 17 | VPN | 12.4% | 26 |
| 20 | Azure | 11.9% | 25 |
| 20 | Problem-Solving | 11.9% | 25 |
| 22 | Citrix | 11.4% | 24 |
| 22 | macOS | 11.4% | 24 |
| 24 | Asset Management | 11.0% | 23 |
| 24 | Entra ID | 11.0% | 23 |
| 26 | Android | 10.0% | 21 |
| 26 | Apple iOS | 10.0% | 21 |
| 26 | Migration | 10.0% | 21 |
| 26 | Virtual Desktop | 10.0% | 21 |
| 30 | PowerShell | 9.5% | 20 |
Desktop Support Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Support Engineer | 70.5% | 148 |
| 2 | Desktop Support Engineer | 61.9% | 130 |
| 3 | 2nd Line Support | 12.4% | 26 |
| 3 | Deskside Support | 12.4% | 26 |
| 5 | 2nd Line Desktop Support | 11.9% | 25 |
| 6 | 2nd Line Support Engineer | 11.0% | 23 |
| 7 | 2nd Line Desktop Support Engineer | 10.5% | 22 |
| 7 | Desktop Support Analyst | 10.5% | 22 |
| 9 | IT Support | 10.0% | 21 |
| 10 | Deskside Support Engineer | 8.6% | 18 |
| 11 | SC Cleared Desktop Support | 7.6% | 16 |
| 12 | IT Support Engineer | 6.7% | 14 |
| 13 | 1st Line Support Engineer | 4.8% | 10 |
| 14 | Desktop Support Technician | 3.3% | 7 |
| 15 | 1st/2nd Line Desktop Support | 2.9% | 6 |
| 15 | Microsoft 365 Engineer | 2.9% | 6 |
| 17 | 3rd Line Support | 1.9% | 4 |
| 17 | IT Support Analyst | 1.9% | 4 |
| 17 | Mobile Engineer | 1.9% | 4 |
| 20 | 1st/2nd Line Support Analyst | 1.4% | 3 |